AFR first to the line announcing a delay to the Hunter program (article sourced via Defence news account) :
Government consents to delay in $44b frigate program
The start of construction of the navy’s $44 billion new fleet of frigates is poised to be pushed back for up to 18 months after the Morrison government agreed to delay the project because of issues with the design.
Work building the first frigate may not start in Adelaide until 2024, after senior ministers approved the delay last week. The move comes as the Auditor-General on Tuesday flagged a potential audit into the project this financial year.
Defence Department officials had foreshadowed at Senate estimates in May that the project was facing hurdles because of coronavirus-related disruptions and continuing design issues.
Australia’s Hunter-class frigates are based on the Type 26 frigate that British defence giant BAE Systems is designing and building for the Royal Navy.
However, the changes mandated by the Australian government, including a US combat system and Australian-made radar, are causing headaches for designers and making the warship heavier than expected.
The Australian Financial Review revealed last year that design changes had resulted in the frigate being longer than the 150 metres initially planned, although BAE insists the frigate will still meet the navy’s performance requirements.
A major issue is that
the 8200-tonne vessel has a weight margin for growth of just 270 tonnes, or 3.3 per cent.
The Defence Department’s first assistant secretary for ships, Sheryl Lutz, told estimates in May that bureaucrats were examining whether starting construction on the first frigate by the end of 2022 as planned posed a “higher risk” by the end of 2022 and would present options to the government.
Multiple defence sources said the project was staring at an 18-month delay, with one source saying cabinet’s national security committee had acknowledged the need to push back the construction date.
A spokeswoman for Defence Minister Peter Dutton declined to comment but a senior government source said Australia continued to deal with delays flowing on from the British program.
A BAE Australia spokeswoman said questions about government decision-making processes were best left for government.
“The Hunter class frigate program is making strong progress towards the delivery of a superior anti-submarine warfare capability for the Royal Australian Navy,” she said.
“Prototyping commenced in December 2020 as planned, two major design milestones are expected to occur this year and the program is exceeding its Australian contract expenditure targets, with contracts continuing to be placed with Australian industry.”
Opposition defence industry spokesman Matt Keogh said the delay was concerning.
“Further delays of this project demonstrate how the government is mismanaging contracts all over the defence industry, once again putting jobs at risk in the shipbuilding enterprise,” he said.
Independent South Australian senator Rex Patrick said there had been warnings for some time that the program was behind schedule.
“This is a typical situation that occurs when you go down the path of procuring something where the design is not finished,” he said.
The first of the nine frigates is meant to be finished by 2029 and in service in 2031.
As well as the problem with the frigates, Defence and French shipbuilder Naval Group have been at loggerheads over the $90 billion future submarine program on a host of issues, including opportunities for local suppliers.
Naval Group has a September deadline to produce an acceptable offer for the Commonwealth for the next phase of the contract.
The Canadian government is also adapting the Type 26 for its navy but the project there has also suffered from delays and the price tag for its 15 ships has jumped significantly to a now estimated $C77 billion ($82 billion).
Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery. Connect with Andrew on
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